Through annual donations to the Sooner Club, members provide the funding for the athletics department’s financial obligations to the university. Seat related gifts to the Sooner Club are primarily earmarked for the approximately $14M expense each year. Seat related gifts are awarded (1) Sooner Point & (1) Championship Point per $100. The accumulation of each of these points will be recognized during the following allocations:

Recently, Oklahoma has been at the forefront of student-athlete welfare and expanding our assistance to over 500 student-athletes with Cost-of-Attendance, nutrition, professional development, psychological resources, among other key initiatives. The Inspiring Champions Fund has been created to provide the resources beyond scholarships to over 500 student-athletes.

Your gift to the Sooner Club via the annual fund, ensures we protect and empower our student-athletes while they're on campus.

Another way the athletics department covers these expenses is through scholarship endowments, similar to a retirement account, where a principle gift is invested with interest earnings each year designated towards the approximately $14M expense. Scholarship Endowments are a common giving option for members wishing to leave a gift impacting student-athletes that will impact generations to come.

Endowments

There are multiple ways to initiate a scholarship endowment:

• Named General Scholarship $25,000
  • A total gift of $25,000 allows you to name a scholarship for OU Athletics. A general scholarship will be pooled with other similar scholarships to offset the athletics department’s total financial obligation to the university.
• Sport Specific Scholarship $100,000
  • Beginning at $100,000, a sport specific scholarship may be designated towards a sport of interest. For example, a gift of this size could be formed as the Jane & John Donor Baseball Scholarship. Each year, the interest from the principle gift will go directly towards a baseball student-athlete.
• Fully Endowed Scholarship $350,000
  • To cover the full scholarship costs of one student-athlete, a total gift of $350,000 will continue to impact student-athletes for generations to come. In addition to naming a scholarship, opportunities to designate the gift towards a specific sport interest. For example, a $350,000 gift could be formed as the Donor Family Softball Endowment, where the interest will year over year cover the scholarship costs of one student-athlete.

Scholarship Endowments are recognized during Championship Allocations where a member will receive 2 points per $100 for non-home ticket allocations.

Planned Giving

Research shows that as adults continue to age, leaving a formidable legacy begins to become a larger priority in ones life. By designating OU as a beneficiary of your estate planning and earmarking your gift towards a scholarship endowment, your legacy continues to live for future generations.